Icarus
by Light My Words
Summary: "Is this really hard for you?" She asked, voice teetering on desperation. "Because all I want to do is actually be able to touch you and I can't because you live on the other side of the damn country." An unexpected conversation with a stranger over an online dating site late one night turns into so much more than anyone anticipated.
1. Valentino

If there was one thing Jane Rizzoli didn't like, it was to be pushed. Pushed into closing a case before it felt right, pushed into cleaning her apartment when her mother came around, pushed into eating healthy food and wearing nice dresses. Mostly though, she hated being pushed into dating, which was unfortunate because it seemed to be her mother's preferred pass-time, and the woman seemed to have an uncanny ability to get her into these situations without her knowing until it was too late. It had gotten to a point where she could no longer count the blind dates and set-ups on both hands. It had always been particularly irritating, but at the end of the night she'd been able to walk away and go home to her cluttered apartment and forget about it. However this time, Angela Rizzoli had pushed a little too far.

It had snuck up on her which frustrated Jane even more. She wasn't even aware her mother could turn on a computer, let alone set up a profile on an online dating site with an ancient photo of her daughter wearing a mid-thigh length dress and a begrudging smile. And worse – she hadn't known about it until she by chance checked the personal email address she rarely used and found a plethora of notifications from a site called 'Mingle'. She'd thought they were spam and had started deleting them until she accidently opened one and was greeted with her profile picture and her name and a red bubble to the right of the screen letting her know she had 34 private messages. While the amount of interest she had drummed up unknowingly was a fine ego boost, it was quickly overrun with anger at having her life overrun by her mother yet again.

At first she'd considered calling her mother, because while she may not be computer literate, Jane had no doubt that this was her handy work. A quick glance at the time let her know it was too late, regardless of how furious she was. So she'd shimmied from her well-worn black slacks and removed her bra from under her shirt, tossing them in the general direction of the bedroom on her way to the fridge. Grabbing a beer, she made her way back to the sofa and sat guiltily in front of her laptop for a little self-indulgence. There was no harm in looking through the potential suitors that had obviously found some interest in her. As if somehow understanding what Jane was about to do, Jo-Friday let out a yelp and leaped around the sofa a few times.

"This is strictly between you and me," the brunette declared to the terrier as she hit 'forgotten password' on the site she'd been unwittingly signed up to. "We can't indulge or encourage Ma at all." Jo-Friday yelped again and jumped up onto the sofa, circling three times before curling up with her head on Jane's knee. She was halfway through her beer by time she'd signed in and deleted the first five messages from obscenely boring men. She cocked a brow at the next message, her mouse hovering over the small square photo of a woman around her age, with blonde curled locks and almond shaped topaz eyes. Obviously, Angela Rizzoli had, in her haste, forgotten to select gender preference when signing her daughter up.

Her mouse hovered for a second while she contemplated sending it to the trash with the others. The little display image was endearingly innocent and the woman was undoubtedly attractive, and it's not like she hadn't thought about it once or twice in her lifetime. Her finger lingered on the delete button for a moment before opting to open the message. Unlike the others she'd glanced over, this one was extremely short and consisted of very few words.

_'That dress looks absolutely beautiful on you, is it a Valentino?'_

For a moment, Jane sat confused. Was this meant to be more of an expression of interest at the dress or at Jane herself? Did this woman want to purchase the dress? Because Jane wasn't entirely sure she even still owned it. Mildly insulted that this message hadn't been another stereotypical essay full of compliments and blatant flattery, Jane hit reply. Her fingers moved over the keys of her laptop in determination, albeit a little slower than usual.

'I don't know what that is, but it sounds expensive, so probably not because I'm pretty sure that dress is from Target. Are you planning on taking back your last message due to my lack of fashion knowledge, or because the dress isn't a Valentini?'

She toyed with the wording for a little whole longer before accepting that regardless of what she wrote it was going to either feel awkward or be a lie. She hit send and grabbed her beer, wiping the condensation that had formed on the table with her sleeve. She took a swig, propping her feet up on the coffee table and tickled Jo-Friday behind the ears. There were countless hours of baseball footage saved on her DVR, and she planned on burning a decent hole through it tonight.

The television screen lit up and Jane leaned back with a sigh of contentment. She was so relaxed and so intrigued in the game flashing on her screen, she almost fell from the couch in horror when her computer buzzed an odd little jingle and the screen lit back up. The red bubble on her screen was flashing again, indicating a new message. Hesitantly she clicked on it and found another message from the woman earlier. Gulping down the rest of her beer, she opened the message and flickered her eyes over the words there.

_'It's Valentino and they can be rather expensive I suppose – definitely not purchasable at Target. Valentino Garavani is an Italian born fashion designer who had his first major break through in Florence. He's famous for his R.E.D Valentino, a line of flawless red dresses, however I'm a fan of his underrated black garments. Elizabeth Taylor was a huge advocate for his work."_

There was a pause after the message came up in her inbox and Jane frowned until the text down the bottom of the screen informed her that the other woman was still typing.

_"Regardless of your lack of knowledge in fashion and the beauty that is hand craftsmanship, I'll retain my comment on how beautiful you look. Your profile says you're from Boston, did you attend BCU?"_

Pursing her lips, Jane hit reply with a smirk. Unlike the previous message, this one had been long-winded and full of information she'd never had an interest in knowing. In parts it had been teetering on the edge of boring, but for some reason it made her stomach flutter with something strange that almost felt like excitement. There had even been a follow-up question, which indicated that she was expecting a reply. Jane began typing before she paused. In her haste, she'd not looked at this woman's profile, and wasn't even completely certain on her name.

Clicking on her username at the top of the message, Jane waited for the page to load. She was now on the edge of the sofa, game and beer long forgotten as her eyes glanced over the screen. Her name was Maura Isles, and she was the medical examiner of San Francisco. Her mother had undoubtedly signed her up to this site in an effort to swing her away from her work life and into marriage and child bearing, and yet the only person she'd taken a remote interest in so far was a woman who just so happened to be in the same nightmarish field of work Jane was. The brunette wondered briefly if this was enough punishment for her Ma, or if she needed something a little more to make sure this sort of interference in her life was inflicted for once onto one of her brothers instead.

Flicking back to her message, she continued typing. It didn't seem entirely right, to know all about her just yet. It was too much like reading the end results of a game before watching it, which seemed to defeat the purpose.

Maura had asked about BCU, which was slowly becoming a bigger and bigger insecurity of Jane's, and was the only part of her reply that she hesitated on. It hadn't seemed like such a big deal when she was younger, and the decision to abandon College for a career in the police force had been purely for the benefit of her family – which now seemed moot, as her father had turned out to be a low life that perhaps should be drowning in her College debt. After a moment of inner turmoil, she decided on honesty, and replied that while she had been accepted to the prestigious university; she had declined, as her family couldn't afford it. She finished by asking what College Maura had attended, and hit send.

It had taken her longer than she thought to reply to the message, and when she glanced at the clock she was surprised to find it past midnight. Closing her laptop under the presumption that the doctor would be asleep, Jane headed off to bed, the image of a smiling Maura with loose curls and bright eyes locked firmly in her mind.


	2. Gaultier

Firstly, I'd just like the thank everyone for the surprising amount of interest in the story so far. I have a faint outline for where I'd like to take it, and pledge to upload a new chapter every Sunday afternoon EST. As always - comments are more than welcome and have a tendency to fuel my muse.

* * *

It had been two weeks since the initial fury of having being signed up to a dating site without consent. It had also been two weeks since her first email from Maura. Over the fourteen days their dynamic had changed from hesitant emails, to consistent bantering messages, to frequent IM's discussing benign things like what they planned on for dinner and whether the murder rate was higher in Boston or San Francisco – which of course Maura had the answer to. Jane had even downloaded the app on her phone so she didn't have to be in front of a computer to chat with the quirky medical examiner.

It had been so strange, how quickly they'd gotten to know each other and fall into a rhythm of easy conversation – of course it hadn't progressed past instant messages, and for some reason anything more made Jane's stomach flutter with nerves. But over the past few days she couldn't help but image what Maura sounded like. Of course she hadn't acted on it, but it had been so awfully tempting that she'd spent too much time deleting and re-writing texts suggesting a phone call or video chat. It was out of character for the ballsy detective to say the least, and fortunately the message from Maura that night had said exactly what Jane had been trying to these past few days.

_'While I enjoy these messages, I can't help but wonder what you sound like. Is it too forward to request calling you tonight?'_

That was it. Jane's stomach was doing leaps and twisting itself into knots at the prospect of hearing the blonde's voice for the first time. It was one thing to be rejected after a first date, but the possibility of being rejected after having gotten to know the person, well that thought was down right nauseating. It was entirely unnerving and exciting, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she was considering putting on a little mascara and reconsidering her outfit. With lingering hesitation, Jane replied with a simple 'that'd be nice'.

That evening, Jane sat down on the sofa and opened her laptop. She was already one beer in, which was unusual for a quiet Tuesday night. The television was on low in the background, because she'd decided when Maura called, she was going to try look like she hadn't been waiting in anticipation all day. The Medical Examiner was online, and Jane had to wonder if she'd been experiencing the same nauseating nerves that she was.

The shrill ring was both expected and unexpected, and it made Jane jump. They'd decided on 9pm, which Jane had loosely interpreted as anywhere between 9pm and 9.40pm, but apparently Maura was a big fan of punctuality. It took her a second to swallow her mouthful and click answer. At first all she saw was a pixilated blonde, but as the image slowly came into focus, she felt the lump in her throat shrink. Maura Isles looked every bit as real as her profile image, and the doctor was wearing an easy smile as she played around with the settings of her laptop. Jane cleared her throat and pushed unruly curls behind her ears, suddenly feeling very small in comparison to a woman who was almost half a foot shorter than her, which was ridiculous.

Maura spoke first, her voice smooth and calm. "It's really good to finally see you. Statistically 38% of people that join online dating sites either use ancient pictures of them in their prime, or images of someone else all together to draw interest. Obviously the fatal flaw in that is if it ever progresses past instant messages, there is a lot left to be explained. It's nice to know you look very much like I imagined."

The little ramble made Jane smile, actually genuinely smile, and Maura laughed. "Although your smile looks better in person, more natural and not so begrudged."

"You imagined me?" The brunette teased, feeling enormously more relaxed and at ease than she had all day.

"Well of course I did. You didn't imagine what I'd be like?" Maura replied, seemingly confused by the amusement in Jane's tone.

"I suppose I did."

"And?"

Jane smiled, readjusting herself on the sofa. "You definitely live up to every expectation."

They spoke for longer than either of them had anticipated, and Jane found she was learning a lot about the woman on her screen and sharing a lot about herself in return. She didn't look much like a Medical Examiner, but it was something that had interested her from a young age – which admittedly was weird – but she was good at what she did and never second-guessed her career choice. For Jane it was nice to be able to discuss what she saw and dealt with on a daily basis, with someone who not only understood the terror, but also the stress of dealing with a male dominated environment. While she shared the burden with the boys at work, she never really got the chance to _share_. With Maura it was easy, because while they didn't work on the same cases, they saw the same general inhumanity and horror every day.

Half way through the evening they'd both relocated to their respective bedrooms, and had taken a moment to get changed from business clothes to appropriate sleepwear. When Jane returned, she found Maura asleep, head resting on delicate arms in front of her computer. She was lying above the covers of a very expensive looking bed, and from the angle her screen was pointed, Jane was afforded a glance at the length of her body. The doctor was dressed in silky looking pyjamas, but because her arms were pulled above her head to act as a cushion, Jane could see a sliver of perfect alabaster skin around her lower back. She supposed she should end the call or at least look away, but she didn't want to come across as rude by just hanging up without saying goodbye. Not to mention the sudden overwhelming urge she had to wrap the blonde in covers, or worse, her arms.

Jane had never really imagined a life or relationship with another woman. It had always been expected of her to find a nice man and get married. Never once had anything else been suggested, and Jane had – however narrow-minded it was – just accepted it. Now though, with Maura, the thought was present and extremely enticing, although she hated to think how her mother would take the news. Angela Rizzoli loved her children, but she was also a devout catholic who seemed to have more of an issue with the annulment of her marriage because of the religious implications on her family, rather than the actual end of her relationship. The idea of divulging anything of her new found interest in the same sex made her feel nauseated and she tried to flick the thoughts from her mind. Instead she focused on Maura and she too settled atop her blankets and rested her head on her arms. Maybe she could just pretend they fell asleep together. It was still innocent, right?

Jane awoke the next morning with a start to the sound of crunching paper. The first thought that came to mind was that someone was in her house, which weighed her fight or flight instincts heavily toward fight. It took her a moment to calm her racing heart and realize the sound was emanating from her laptop. She lifted her head from her arms, neck letting out an angry scream of protest. Jane cleared her throat and blinked a few times in an effort to focus on her bright laptop screen. Maura was perched at what looked like a breakfast bar, a newspaper obscuring most of her face and a lot more awake than Jane had left her. As if sensing something on her screen shifted, Maura lowered her newspaper and smiled her warm welcoming grin.

"Good morning," she offered softly. As Jane sat up and lifted her laptop onto her legs, Maura folded her newspaper and placed it on the bench beside her.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Jane croaked, her voice raspy and rough with sleep. She pushed her tangled hair back out of her face, positive that she looked every bit a disaster as Maura did perfect.

"I thought you might need the sleep, and you'd mentioned last night that you didn't have any plans for today. I apologise for falling asleep on you last night." She was still in those loose fitting silk pyjamas, but her hair had been brushed and her face was fresh and free of yesterdays make up.

"I guess I was kinda tired, yesterday it felt like I was never gonna get home. That's okay, I came back and you were asleep and I didn't want to seem rude by hanging up so I just left it." Jane supposed it was best to be honest, and she felt much too comfortable to feel the need to lie about it. Maura seemed content with the answer because she smiled, holding back to urge to correct the other woman's grammar.

"I'm glad you didn't hang up. It was nice to wake up to you this morning."

"I'm glad too."

They spent most of the morning in conversation, first from afar while Jane got dressed for the day - although as Maura pointed out, workout shorts and a sweatshirt could hardly count as dressed for the day – and then over breakfast and coffee. It was surprising just how much they had to talk about, and it wasn't until the last afternoon that they'd ended the call and gone their separate ways. As one of her only days off, Maura had to go grocery shopping and get herself sorted for the week to come. Jane found it surprisingly upsetting that she wasn't able to get up and meet her at the supermarket or buy her coffee, and for the first time in a long time, it frustrated her how much she felt she was missing out on.


	3. Vuitton

It's a day late and I'm sincerely sorry. If the writing is a bit pompous, I blame it on the Harry Potter marathon I've spent all weekend indulging in.

* * *

It was truly strange how quickly they'd developed their own little rituals that very few understood. At work they sent small quick messages to each other in between interviews and autopsies, discussing their day and possible solutions to lunch and the poor food served at police station cafés. At home they opened a video chat session and cooked together from their respective kitchens. Some nights they sat in front of the television and watched their own shows with very little chatter. Even without the discussion, it was comforting to feel the presence and to be able to flick eyes to their respective screens every now and then to see each other. However, it was slowly becoming apparent that they couldn't do this forever, and while a relationship could be formed via an internet connection, it was very hard to sustain it in the same way. That's why they'd agreed two weeks ago on a visit, a face to face actual visit. Jane personally couldn't decide if she was excited or on the verge of a nervous break down.

Maura had two weeks of leave that she'd put aside for a forensic pathology conference in Cambridge, and upon Jane's offer to take some time off, decided to put one of those weeks aside for a trip to Boston. It had been two months of whatever it was between them. It had been both well planned and rather hasty, but both women felt it had been a long time coming. They still hadn't put a label on their relationship, which when Jane thought about it, made her quite anxious. She wanted a relationship with the blonde medical examiner, but the logistics of the entire thing inflicted a new level of anxiety upon her. She didn't want to leave Boston - it was her home and a place where her entire family still resided. Although, on the other hand it might be easier to flee to San Francisco to save herself from the torture of trying to explain to her mother that her grand vision for her only daughter fell extremely short of expectations.

The initial nerves of the impending visit had since faded, and now Jane Rizzoli found herself completely overwhelmed by the fact that in less than two hours she was due at the airport to collect her Maura. She'd learnt within the past few months that Maura Isles was a woman of taste. Beautiful clothes, expensive wine, perfected decor. She didn't seem like the sort to drink beer from a can and devour a burger, which was unfortunate because Jane often struggled to come up with a more perfect evening. That was how the brunette found herself spending a chunk of her pay cheque on a fancy sounding wine and ingredients to a beautiful Italian recipe she'd learnt to cook when she was younger. She'd spent her first morning off making pasta from scratch, which in itself had proved frustrating enough. The urge to call her mother and have her come around to prepare dinner was strong, but that involved explaining just why she was cooking to begin with and Jane thought better of it. Fortunately for her, Maura had been very understanding about Jane's lack of intention to tell her mother about them.

Time had gotten away from her, and when she looked up from her kitchen bench and the now seamlessly rolled pasta, she almost had a heart attack. The speed at which she travelled to the airport was unrivalled. Grass, trees and the skyline blurred into one as she raced through traffic in an effort to for once, not be late. By time she made it to the arrivals board, she was pleased to find the flight from San Francisco had been delayed, which allowed the detective ten minutes to run to the bathroom and try to settle unruly curls and make sure she looked presentable.

There were certain things that had run frequently through her mind over the past few months, things that before having met Maura, never would have had a place in her imagination. She wondered what it'd be like to run the tips of her fingers over Maura's skin, how it'd feel to trace her lips over the soft alabaster expanse of her neck. Now that she may have the chance to find out, she wasn't entirely sure what to do with it or where to begin. Luckily for her, Maura wasn't as hesitant. Jane was standing by the arrivals section, hands slung in pockets as she waited nervously when Maura emerged from the corridor. Her hair was in soft curls, untouched by the six hour flight she'd just sat. Her heels echoed on the tiled floor, the _click click_ speeding as she noticed Jane and picked up her pace. As she reached the detective she bent at the knees and sat her bag on the floor before standing on tip toes to wrap her thin toned arms around the brunettes neck. Jane's arms returned the embrace before she could even tell them too, and it was better than she could have imagined, having this warm, soft beautiful woman in her arms who smelt faintly of jasmine, peaches and wild roses. When Maura pulled back, Jane allowed herself her first real glance at her medical examiners eyes. It was rewarding to finally be able to see them without the blur of pixels. Anyone who didn't look closer would say they were hazel, but Jane could see the flecks of bright topaz around her pupils.

"Can I kiss you?" It came out suddenly, her voice coarse and sharp like gravel.  
Maura smiled her lovely smile and nodded her head, "Please." And it was all she needed to close the gap and sweep her lips over the soft, flushed lips of Maura Isles. Suddenly nothing else quite mattered, however cliché it sounded.

* * *

Maura didn't seem phased by the size or lack of interior decor of Jane's apartment. When the door was opened for her, she walked through like she'd been there a thousand times, and waited for the door to be closed behind her before accepting the detective's hand in her own and allowing her to show her through. Jane was relieved, because no matter how hard she try she didn't have the time nor the funds to match Maura's house in San Francisco. The class divide between the two didn't seem to bother Maura nearly as much as it did Jane, and the blonde's cool and oblivious attitude to the differences in their lives was helping quell her anxiety.  
Maura toed her heels off at the front door, opening the height difference between the two, and Jane couldn't help the smile that spread across her face when she realised the good head difference between them. It was enormously endearing and it made her heart swell a little with a sort of happiness she never truly expected to feel.

"I was in the middle of prepping dinner before I came to get you. I thought it'd be nice to cook something for you." Jane's smile was easy and slightly lopsided as she pointed toward the pasta to accentuate her point. In all honesty, after the wine she wasn't sure she'd be able to afford a night out on the town. Maura seemed content with Jane's words and she moved toward the breakfast bar and took a seat on one of the stools opposite the self appointed chef.  
"I love Italian." Her finger brushed over the rolled pasta and Jane could have sworn her words came out a purr.  
"I'm Italian." She blurted, and Maura flickered her eyes up to meet her glance. She smiled again, this time slow and amused.  
"Oh, I know. You're definitely my favourite kind of Italian." Her tone was flirty and easy, and Jane watched as she shifted to cross her legs. It took all kinds of self restraint to not abandon dinner and shift her attention toward all those things she couldn't stop imagining. She cleared her throat, hoping it'd clear her mind the same.  
"I bought wine," because that was a safe reply and she didn't want to think about all the other things that could have left her mouth instead. "The guy at the store said it was good, so it's not my fault if you don't like it."

It turned out Maura did quite like the wine, and after a dinner they prepared together the pair sat on the sofa in front of the television, glass of wine and bottle of beer in hand. It had been nice for Jane to be able to teach the brilliant blonde something she didn't already know. They'd made a feta and spinach tortellini whose recipe Angela Rizzoli had imprinted on Jane at a young age, and while Maura was fluent in fine French cuisine, she had very little experience with Italian food. Even in the few short months she'd known the doctor, Jane had learnt very quickly that there was very little she didn't know, and to finally not only find something Maura didn't have a vast knowledge off. but that she had experience with on an intimate level was outstanding.

They'd decided on a movie, which had been a difficult task as they seemed to have very different definitions of entertainment. After much deliberation and friendly debate, they settled on a Tomb Raider movie that Maura spent picking out factual errors. Jane didn't mind because she was cuddled up to her side under a throw rug and she was allowed to rest her chin atop blonde hair and press kisses wherever she wanted. It had been entirely innocent until Maura seemingly got bored and turned her attentions to Jane instead of the television screen. There was no doubt in the doctors mind what they were to each other, and she felt they'd waited long enough. It of course took Jane by surprise, and before her brain could comprehend the full extent of what was happening, Maura Isles was straddling her, blonde curls pushed from her face. The kiss was easy and familiar, but much deeper than the one at the airport. This one was probing and meltingly delicious, and Maura's small hands were cupping her face, and Jane's reciprocated by running down her sides to the bottom of her shirt, and then back up under it. There were little moans and sighs, and Jo Friday trotted off toward her bed, sensing this was something she needn't be apart of.  
They parted momentarily when Jane lifted Maura's blouse above her head, and the blonde followed suit, tugging Jane's tank over a head of dark curls. It was so much like one of her dreams, that for a moment, she couldn't even be sure it wasn't.  
"You're beautiful, really, but I haven't..." She trailed off, unsure of how to say what she needed to. Maura seemed to understand her silence, and sat back with a comforting smile. It wasn't rejection, but more a promise for things to come.  
"It's alright, it has been an exhausting day, and honestly I'm looking forward to sleeping without the glare of a computer screen." Her voice was like honey, and she stood gracefully from, Jane's lap, who stood immediately behind her.  
"I'm just looking forward to finally being able to hold you while you sleep. And the whole clothing thing – totally optional."


End file.
